Film Guides for Films Used in Class:

The following films (listed in alphabetical order) are films used in the American Government  class.  They are films which match the course curriculum. Each film  links to a review on Rottentomatoes.com and, at the end of the entry, a worksheet or study guide for the film.  I have not provided an answer key for any of these study guides.  I use my own keys to evaluate student work, but do not provide "answers" for two reasons.  Many of the questions are open-ended and do not have simple answers.  Additionally, any educator who wishes to use these questions is welcomed to do so - but I encourage them to view the film themselves and come up with their own questions for discussion and "answers" to the questions.  Please feel free to contact me if you have comments, further suggested questions, film recommendations, or other ideas about these study guides.

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A Civil Action - Based on Schlichtmann's fact-based novel, this film portrays the struggles of a Massachussetts small town in which several children have died, possibly from toxic contaminants in the water, against the massive corporations who own the potentially offending sites.  A superb portrayal of the way in which civil cases are brought to trial - or not.  Film Guide.

The Control Room - A British team's portrait of Arabic-language news outlet Al-Jazeera in the opening days of the Invasion of Iraq.  (Highly Recommended).  Film Guide.

Hijacking Catastrophe - a 2004 look at the way in which the Bush Administration utilized the events of 9-11 to promote a particular agenda.  There is also a truncated 30 minute version which can be viewed and  discussed in terms of left-wing propaganda. (Highly Recommended).   Film Guide.

How Art Made the World: The Art of Persuasion - a BBC production tracing the origins of role of art in political strategies throughout western history in Britain, Persia, Greece, and Rome.  Film Guide.

La Sierra: Colombia - A brutal documentary about life in an anarchistic Colombian gang-infested, violence-riddled barrio.  Unflinching and amazing. (Highly Recommended)  Film Guide. (The guide functions in conjunction with the film: A State of Mind - see below.)

Manufacturing Consent - a highly intellectual look at how the media influences our thinking (only excerpts will be presented); a very dense and difficult (thought insightful) philosophical analysis of corporate control of media functions.  Film Guide. (in conjunction with Orwell's 1984.)

No End in Sight - Addresses the way in which the peace was [deliberately?] lost in the Iraqi occupation in 2003 - 2004, leaving that  nation in dependent shambles.    Film Guide.

A Perfect Candidate - a disturbing (though funny) documentary of the 1994 Senatorial race between Oliver North and Chuck Robb.  (Highly Recommended).  Film Guide.

So Goes the Nation - Focusing on the presidential campaign in Ohio in 2004, this film notes the way in which campaigns are run and won (or lost).    Film Guide Unavailable.

A State of Mind: North Korea - A particularly brilliant documentary focusing on North Korea which could just as easily leave a supporter of "Our Dear General" (Kim Jong Il) pleased with its fairness and equally terrify and horrify anyone who has ever read 1984. (Highly Recommended)  Film Guide. (The guide functions in conjunction with the film: La Sierra - see above.)

The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib - This HBO feature focuses on the perpetrators and prisoners of the U.S. torture of Iraqi's in the first years of the occupation.  Film Guide Unavailable.

Unconstitutional - A view of the undermining of basic civil liberties by the US government as a result of our response to 9-11 through measures such as the USA PATRIOT Act.  The film guide focuses on the first half of the film.  Film Guide.

Underground Zero - a reflection on the events of 9/11.  Only three excerpts will be presented: End of Summer; Voice of the Prophet; and China Diary.  These are used to practice film viewing skills.  Other selections from this set of short films are quite uneven in terms of quality.  Film Guide.

Unprecedented - an in-depth look at Bush's Florida victory in 2000     For a flash animation footnote to the film, a factually accurate yet propagandistic view of the role of Katherine Harris, see: Grand Theft America .  Film Guide.

Why We Fight (site recommended) - This film looks at the War in Iraq in the broader context of Eisenhower's warning against the "military-industrial complex."  While some films address what happens in war, this film works to answer why.  (Highly Recommended).  Film Guide.

Other Films about Government:

What follows is an incomplete list of films which deal with some aspect of government.   For the time being I've linked each film to the Rottentomatoes site where you can read a variety of reviews by professional film critics.  This list is horribly biased: most of the films here are critical of "government" - even the older ones.  Please contact me if you find anything pertaining to American Government which makes you cheer for the Feds like you do in the Japanese films: A Taxing Woman and A Taxing Woman's Return.

A Chronology of US Politics and War (1992 - 2008) - in chron. order  (Note: this should be supplemented by films from the above list.)

The War Room - a documentary about Clinton's 1992 campaign, generally sympathetic towards the Clinton camp.

Primary Colors - a cynical drama about the 1992 Clinton campaign as told from the disaffected view of an insider.

(insert: A Perfect Candidate)

The Hunting of the President - a pro-Clinton partisan look at the decline of the Clinton presidency viewed as an all-out attack by the Republican party.  Clinton's address in response to the film is the best part of it.

(insert: Unprecedented, Hijacking Catastrophe, and The Control Room)

Gunner Palace - An embedded filmmaker with the 2/3 Field Artillery in Iraq generates a sympathetic documentary portrait of the lives of the soldiers in the streets of Baghdad in 2004.

Generation Kill - This 7-part HBO mini-series is based on the book written by Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright's 2004 book about the invasion of Iraq in which he served as an embedded reporter.

Iraq for Sale - Following the money trail in Iraq: private contractors, 3rd world laborers, no-bid contracts, and a corporate culture which cares oh-so much about the well-being of its... profits.

The War Tapes - A film made without the U.S. partisan debate over the war in Iraq, told from the U.S. soldiers' points of view.

(insert: Unprecedented, No End in Sight, So Goes the Nation, and Taxi to the Dark Side)

Taxi to the Dark Side - charts the U.S.'s use of torture (intensive interrogation techniques) first in Afghanistan, then through its spread to Guantanamo and ultimately its culmination in Abu Ghraib. (Highly Recommended).

Standard Operating Procedure - A less potent, though well-crafted documentary on the abuses of Abu Ghraib.

Other Recommended Films On American Issues

Bob Roberts - another black comedy about politics with MTV help

Bowling for Columbine - an examination of American gun culture; comdeic at its best, moving in its account of the massacre itself, yet problematic in that it plays free and loose with the images and culminates in a personal attack on an Alzheimering Charlton Heston

Sicko - Michael Moore's take on the American medical establishment is a funny, manipulative, and challenging film, rivalling his superb work in Roger & Me.

The Thin Blue Line - Astounding documentary about a man sentenced to death for the killing of a Dallas policeman, despite the defendants insistence that he is innocent...  A portrayal of what can go horribly wrong in the criminal justice system. 

Wag the Dog - a black comedy about politics and the media

Other Films of Government Interest

All The Presidents' Men - a classic tale, a classic film, based on the journalistic investigations of Bernstein and Woodward of the Nixon Watergate scandal.

Bullworth - a cynical comedy about idiots in elected office (not highly recommended)

The Candidate - Robert Redford's satire on the vacuity of campaigning

The Corporation - fairly chilling assessment which posits that corporations have become the new paradigm of power in the 21st century

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room - superb documentary chronicling the rise and fall of ENRON (and the screwage of California)

Legally Blonde II - after a dreadful first half hour there are instructive lessons in how a bill becomes a law, but ugh - getting through it.... (not highly recommended)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart ultimately find the goodness in American Democracy.  Classic.

Network - a blistering black comedy/drama about media manipulation

12 Angry Men - classic courtroom drama, but more a psychological tale then an exploration of the mechanics of a jury or the legal system

Underground Zero - a highly uneven mix of short musings on 9-11, some of which (Voice of the Prophet, End of Summer) are superb in their minimalist economy, others ramble.

Waco - a disturbing documentary on the Federal raiding of Koresh's compound in Texas, raising the question of whether or not "the government" is looking to protect the public's interests.

And On An International Front...

Darwin's Nightmare - Poorly structured, yet ultimately revealing, the punch line of this documentary is that the West (in this case: Europe) exploits the poverty of the third-world by wrecking their natural environment, fuelling their wars, and profiting off their resources.

Mardi Gras: Made in China - (not yet viewed)

Our Brand is Crisis - Charts the efforts by the firm of Greenberg Carville Shrum to secure the election of a candidate in the Bolivian presidential elections, and the aftermath of their intervention.

Paradise Now - A co-production by a Palestinian and Israeli team portraying two young men who decide to become suicide bombers.  (Highly Recommended)

State of Fear - Thoroughgoing analysis of the rise of Peru's Shining Path, the military response, annihilation of the terrorist movement, and the continued military state of fear, well after the threat has actually subsided. (Highly Recommended)